Century sees P24B from pre-selling

Century Properties Group, Inc. is expecting its pre-sales to reach at least P24 billion this year after reporting that pre-sales for the second quarter of 2013 rose 15.9 percent to P6.3 billion from the record P5.4 billion in the same period of last year.

At the company’s annual shareholders meeting, Century Properties chief financial officer Jose Carlo R. Antonio noted that Century started 2013 with an upbeat pre-selling pace in the first quarter.

The firm posted pre-sales of P5.8 billion during the period, a 10.5 percent year-on-year growth from P5.3 billion in the first quarter last year.

Year to date pre-sales data is at P12.1 billion, representing a 13.3 percent year-on-year growth from P10.7 billion in the same period of last year.

Century co-chief operating officer Jose Marco R. Antonio said the P12.1 billion first half pre-sales puts them on track to hit P24 billion for the entire year. In its three-year plan to 2015, Century aims to grow pre-sales to P30 billion from P21 billion in 2012.

However, he noted that “seasonally, the last two quarters are actually quite strong. So, depending on how the next six months go, we hope to meet if not surpass the targets that we have set.”

To further boost sales, Century is eyeing to acquire properties in Pampanga, Makati and Bonifacio Global City. Antonio said the Pampanga lot will be a joint venture for affordable housing for OFW families.

The Makati lots will be purchase while the Bonifacio property will be on long-term lease. Both sites will be for BPO office buildings where the firm also expects a lot of growth.

Strong pre-sales in the first half were attributed to Century projects Trump Tower at Century City in Makati, Acqua Iguazu yoo inspired by Starck in Mandaluyong City, Azure Urban Resort Residences in Paranaque City and the Residences at Commonwealth in Quezon City.

“We are very happy to report the upward pre-sales momentum of Century projects to our shareholders. The continued momentum is driven by the balanced offering of Century’s innovative residential properties for the luxury, middle income and affordable markets. We offer these products using an industry-leading international and local sales platform that allows us to reach underserved markets,” Carlo Antonio said.